The next two years will be crucial for the West African country of Liberia. In 2016 the United Nations peacekeeping force UNMIL will transfer the full responsibility for security to the Liberian authorities, and in 2017 a new president will be ele...

Fred van der Kraaij

Dr Fred van der Kraaij is a Dutch economist specializing in the political economy of African countries and strategic advisor for The Broker's Sahel Watch programme. His career of well over 40 years includes some 20 years abroad, mainly in West Africa where he lived and worked for 16 years, and 20 years with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague, the Netherlands. His work covers 15 African countries and a wide range of topics and sectors like research and education, macroeconomics and rural development, as well as monitoring and evaluation. His thesis on the role of foreign investment in the development of Liberia was published as ‘The Open Door Policy of Liberia. An Economic History of Modern Liberia’. He maintains a website and a blog on Liberia and twitters as @liberiapp and @FredVDKraaij. His most recent publication is ‘Liberia: From the Love of Liberty to Paradise Lost’ (African Studies Centre, 2015). He is currently preparing a book on the western Sahel region, where he worked for 11 years, focusing on Mali, a country he first visited in 1972.